Misunderstandings Continued - Part 4 (Final Part)
by Aislin
Summary: The last part...Max explains to Liz why he collapsed, and maybe they get back together...For the Dreamgirls!


Note - This is the final story of the Misunderstandings series...I may not post anything for a while, but I WILL be working on new material! If you want to contact me, my email is goddess_number_9@hotmail.com . Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed my stories! Please review this one, though...I'd like to know what everyone thinks, honestly! (Unless you're gonna be bitchy like someone else was....if ya don't like, don't read! :) ) Ü  
  
  
  
  
"Can everyone leave, please? I really think I know how to wake him up, but I need privacy." Everyone cleared out faster than if they were in the school and it had caught on fire. Isabel sat alone on the bed with Max. She started to hum "I Shall Believe", but backwards. She didn't know why she was doing it, but something inside of her told her it might work. Seeing as he had been singing it softly while he was unconscious, she thought maybe it backwards would make him conscious again.   
  
Max's eyelids began to flutter, and Isabel's heart jumped. Was it working?  
  
Nope. All movement in his body stopped, except for the beating of his heart and his breathing.   
  
"Liz?" Isabel called out. Liz entered the room.   
  
"Is he awake?"  
  
Isabel ignored her question. "Liz, you know that old Sheryl Crow song? I Shall Believe?"  
  
A tear slipped down Liz's cheek, "Yeah..."  
  
"Sing it with me."  
  
"O...kay..."  
  
Together the two girls began to sing, "Come to me now...lay your hands over me...even if it's a lie...say it will be alright, and I shall believe..." They grew slightly louder, but remained alltogether quiet. Max began to shift positions, open his eyes.   
  
"Li--Liz?" he said groggily.   
  
Liz smiled. "Yes, Max, it's me! Isabel, why'd he collapse?"  
  
"I think he can answer that question for himself. Max, would you like to tell her?" Isabel said, a smile on her face.   
  
"Liz..." Max took a deep breath. He let it go quickly, and looked at Isabel. She understood his silent words and left the room quickly.   
In that moment, Liz was confused. If Isabel already knew, why'd she have to go? Because he doesn't wanna be embarrassed...she thought to herself.   
Max sat up straight on the edge of the bed, gently taking Liz's hands in his own. He pulled her down to sit next to him, and moved so that he was facing her. "Liz, I'm sure you want an explanation, and--" He looked right into her eyes, causing her to shiver all over. She had always felt that way when he looked deep into her soulful brown eyes like that.   
Liz couldn't take it. Seeing how much he loved her by the look in his eyes was driving her crazy. She knew how badly she had hurt him. But she wanted to make it all like it used to be...well, not exactly, because then Tess would be trying to steal him away. She wanted it to be the way it used to be meaning she and Max would be together. Just the two of them, no Tess trying to break them up. She really hated Tess.   
Liz just wanted to be happy with Max. She could see the love in his eyes, she couldn't believe she had hurt him so much. Knowing exactly what she was doing, she leaned forward to close the tiny distance between them. Covering his mouth with her own, Liz kissed him. She knew he'd get flashes from her explaining what had really happened bewteen her and Kyle. And she'd get flashes from him about why he had collapsed.   
Liz gasped.   
*Max was in his room at home, softly weeping. There were few tears silently making tracks down his face, and he was sitting on his bed. His head was bent low, facing the ground between his feet. He wasn't staring at the floor. There was a picture frame in his hands. It was a little silver 5X7 frame with little green aliens dancing around the edges. In it was a picture of Liz, working at Crashdown. She was behind the counter, and had just looked up, realizing he came in the door.* How could he get that picture? He didn't have a camera...he was an alien, he probably had some weird way to do it. *Max, seeing Liz and Kyle in bed together. Feeling as if Liz had just ripped his heart right out of his chest and threw it off the balcony behind him like it didn't matter, shattering it into a million pieces. Feeling as if he'd never be able to put those pieces back together again.* Tears streamed down Liz's face as she broke the kiss. Max wouldn't let her. She had to see the rest. He pulled her back to him and kissed her again, deepening it. She got another flash.   
*Max talking with Tess at the park. Tess wanting to kiss him. Max feeling as if he liked Tess as more than a friend.* Liz's tears streamed faster, but Max wouldn't let her let go. She had to see the end.   
*Max at home again. Standing at his window, looking at the stars. Thinking. "My world without Liz isn't a world at all. I love her too much. I can't stay away from her, and I can't stand to see her with Kyle. I don't want to let her go. But because I love her so much I have to try. It's her decision, and even though I hate it, I have to try to respect it." Max shaking his head, as if clearing his mind. "My world without Liz isn't something I want to live in. So I won't." He held his hand over his heart, and felt the power surge through his veins. His hand began to glow red, and the tight emerald green shirt he was wearing began to smoke. As the power penetrated the shirt and began to sear his skin, Michael burst into the room. Using his mind, he knocked Max to the ground, breaking off his attempt to...well...he didn't want to think about it. "Max, what the hell is wrong with you?" he asked. Max was unable to respond, he was in too much pain; physical, but more emotional. Michael used his power, focusing on squeezing the molecules back into the proper position. He could distort faces to diguise himself, why not try to heal Max? Soon the skin was beginning to look normal, but there was a tiny silver mark in the middle of the wound. Looking at it closely, Michael saw that it was a tiny silver handprint. It would be there for the rest of Max's life. "Max, I'm gonna put you on your bed, and you're gonna lie there, okay? Then when you feel up to it, we're gonna talk. Best friend to best friend." Michael left the room, silently wishing that Max wouldn't try anything while he was gone.*   
Liz broke the kiss again. She didn't want to see more. Max understood, she had already seen so much. There was still a little bit more, so he held her hand to his lips and kissed her tender skin gently.   
*Liz trying to tell Max she didn't want to be with him. Max collapsing on the bed. A small glow coming from the middle of his chest.*  
Max let go of her hand. "Liz, I--"  
Liz interrupted him. "You tried to--to--" she couldn't say the words. Tears threatened to assault her cheeks, yet she tried to choke them back. "Max, why?"  
"I didn't want to live in a world without you. I love you more than words, or actions, can express. My life without you wouldn't be a life at all. It'd be hell. There wouldn't be anyone there to make me feel better, make me smile and laugh, make me feel a special way. Only in your way. I wouldn't have my angel anymore, there to worry about me when I was being incredibly stupid and not thinking; risking something that precious isn't something I want to do, Liz. I love you. I didn't want to be without you, and I didn't want to live seeing you and Kyle together." He pointed at his chest, and there was a faint silver glow. "This will be there forever. It'll be a constant reminder of how much I love you."  
"Max, I love you. You shouldn't have tried to...God, Max," Liz suddenly turned slightly angry. "Max, don't you EVER do something so stupid again! Because then I'd do the same damn thing, and it's be Romeo and Juliet all over again!"  
Max smiled, and traced Liz's jawline. "You're so beautiful when you're angry." He kissed her.   
"Max, I'm serious."  
"So am I!" he exclaimed, kissing her again.   
"I give up."  
"So, we're back together?" he asked cautiously.   
"One thing first. Why did you collapse? Something to do with the handprint?"  
"It's for our love, and when you said you didn't love me...I don't know. Something happened with it, and it made me collapse. I'm not really sure...maybe Tess'd know..."  
"I doubt Tess would be very willing to explain." Liz said, holding Max's hands.   
There was a call from outside the door. "Liz? Max?" It was Isabel.  
"Get your asses out here, you two! We're not gonna wait forever, y'know!" Alex joked around.   
Max and Liz emerged from her room, both with a look of total happiness on their faces. Maria smiled.  
"I take it you two are back together?" she asked, already knowing the answer.   
Max nodded. "And to prove it..." He placed his hand over Liz's heart, concentrating. A silver glow began to enamate from beneath her t-shirt.  
"O...kay...I'm a bit confused here." Maria said blankly. Max touched her arm. She got a brief flash of him with a tiny silver handprint over his heart, and a feeling of love. And then a similar print on Liz, accompanied by the same feeling. "Ohh...now I get it!"  
"Get what?" Alex asked. Max gave him the same images. Isabel, Michael and Tess already knew what it was. Tess was clearly uncomfortable with the idea, but she decided she would have to accept it. It was for the best. She couldn't make Max love her.   
Together, everyone went downstairs to the restaurant. It was around 4:30, and they were all very hungry. Liz, Maria, and Michael all had to start work in half an hour, so together the seven sat down at the counter and shared drinks. It had been an eventful time for all of them, and they were thirsty.  
  
End of the Misunderstandings series... 


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